Railroad-tie.



W. W. WILLARD.

RAILROAD TIE.

APPLIGATION FILED D30. 11, 1913.

Patented Mar. 2, 1915.

THE NORRIS PETERS 60., PHOTO-LITHOH WASHING I'ON. D. 4

I warren sra rns Parana? carica- WILL W. WILLARD, OF SAGINTAW, MICHIGAN.

RAILROAD-TIE.

v To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILL W. l/VILLARD, H

a citizen of the United States of America, residing at'200 Benjamin street, Saginaw, 1V. 3., in the county of Saginaw and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railroad-Ties, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the subject of railroad ties, and the primary object of the same is to produce a composite tie in which the body portion is formed of plastic material and the rail-engaging portion is formed of metal.

The invention contemplates the production of ties in which the body is formed of material that can be readily shaped and hardened to withstand all shocks and jars incidental to rail traflic and which will not be affected by atmospheric changes, and

which is provided with seats for rail engaging members, so that said members will be rigidly, but readily detachably, connected therewith.

In addition, the invention contemplates the production of novel rail engaging mem- 4 bers that cooperate with the body to form proved tie; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the sections, or'blocks, of the tie, the

rail-engaging members being removed. Fig.

3 is a perspective view of the rail members of the tie, the rail clamps being omitted. Fig. 4. is a view in perspective showing a transverse section of one of the blocks. Fig.

7 5 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view through the upper portion of one of the blocks, showing-a rail fastened thereon. Fig. 6 is'a perspective view of oneof the V rail clamps. I

The mproved rallroad t1e comprises a pair of blocks or sections, one for each rail,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Ma. 2, 1915.

Application filed December 11, 1913. Serial No. 805,993. a

the blocks being designated by the numeral 1 and being duplicates. These blocks are preferably formed of a composition including clay mixed with sand and gravel,

the composition being pressed or otherwise v formed into the desired shape, and then sub jected to heat to bake them to the necessary degree of hardness. be made of cement. V

Each block 1 has a centrally located, longitudinally extending groove 2 formed in its upper surface. The upper portion of the groove 2 is wider than the lower portion, the arrangement being such thatseat- These blocks can also ing ledges 3 are formed at the sides and ends of saidgroove. Side seats 4 extend transversely from the longitudinal centers of the side ledges 8, the seats 4 being in the nature of wide grooves that extend to the longitudinal edges of thetop surface of the block 1 and-have continuations 5 that extend down the sides of said block. An opening 6, havingits ends located in the seats 5, extends transversely through the block 1. The block 1 is also provided with a pair of parallel longitudinal openings 7 which eX- tend through or partly through said block and intersect the opening 6, the openings 7 having their entrance ends at the inner end of the blocks. The sides of the block may be provided with grooves 8, so that the block may be readily grasped with tongs to'facilitate handling. Wide, shallow grooves or panels 9, having beveled sides and ends 10, are formed in the bottom of the block ,1

to cause the block to interlock with the roadbed.

The rail-engaging .members of the tie comprise a plate 11 which may be a casting that is of a size to snugly fit on the ledges 3 over the groove 2, the plate having centrally located lateral flanges 12 that fit the seats 4 and from which the side wings '13 depend and fit in the seats 5. .On each side of its transverse center, the plate ll'is provided with a longitudinal slot 1 1 that is preferably narrower than, and registers with, groove 2 of the block 1, the outer end .of each slot 14 terminating in an enlarged, 1

I the block 1.

As is clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 4, the plate 11 through the side flanges 12, forms a flat bearing surface that extends transversely across the center of the tie, and such bearing surface provides a seat for the base of the rail A. The rail A is held to its seat by means of the flat plates 21 having their free ends reduced to provide lips 22 that overlap and clamp upon the upper surfaces of the rail flanges. Rearward movement of the clamps 21 is prevented by the abutment lugs 16, as is shown in Figs. 1 and 5 of the accompanying drawings. The clamps 21 are held in rail-gripping positions by means of the bolts 23 that project upward through the slots 14, said slots being narrower than the heads of said bolts. The bolts 23 extend through openings 24 in the clamps, and nuts 25 lock the bolts in position to firmly fasten the clamps to the plate 11 and rail flange. To remove the clamps 21, the nuts 25 are removed from the bolts, whereupon the said clamps may be readily lifted from the plate 11. To remove the bolts 23, they are moved through the slots lt until the heads 15 of said slots are reached, whereupon the bolts may be readily lifted from the plate 11. A reversal of the described movement of the bolts 23 permits bolts to be readily replaced.

As is clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings, each complete tie includes two duplicate sections, one for each rail, and such sections are rigidly connected by the bars 26 that enter the openings 7 of the blocks 1. The bars 26, adjacent their ends, are provided with transverseopenings 27, (see Fig. 4 of the drawings) and the sleeves 18 and bolts 19 extend through said openings 27. By this manner of connecting the two sections, it will be seen that by removing one bolt 19 and one sleeve 18, the sections may be disconnected, thereby permitting the removal of one section for replacement, repairs, &c., when necessary or desirable, without disturbing the other section.

As is clearly shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, the sleeves 18 efiectively insulate the fasteners 19 from the flanges 13 and the bars 26, so that in the event of the rails or one of the rails, being used for signaling purposes,

short circuiting through the fasteners and said bars is prevented.

It will be observed that the seats 1 and 5 formed in the block 1 are of such depth that the outer surfaces of the flanges 12 and wings 13 are flush with the surfaces of the sides and top of said block. Another advantage of the use of the flat flush seats for the rails is that the rails can be readily adjusted laterally to compensate for Wear on the sides of the heads of the rails. For example, the members of the sets of clamps 21 may differ in length, and as they are interchangeable, it will be apparent that by shifting said members and adjusting them through the medium of the'bolts 23 and slots 15 and 2, the rails will be bodily moved laterally, such adjustments being obviously facilitated by the fact that the upper surface of the tie is perfectly flat. In addition, the described manner of fastening the rails to the plate 11, permits the insertion of blocks or other rail-elevating devices between the rails and their seats when necessary or desirable.

vVhat I claim as my invention is:

1. A railroad tie comprising a block having alongitudinal groove in its upper surface, said groove being surrounded by seating ledges, said upper surface having transversely extending side seats, and the body having seats on its sides that communicate with the transverse seats, a plate seated on the ledges and having side flanges and wings that enter the transverse and side seats, said plate having slots'that communicate with the groove, rail fasteners having bolts that extend through the groove and slots, and means for fastening the plate to the body.

2. A. railroad tie comprising a block hav ing a top groove, a plate seated on the block, and having side flanges and wings that overlap the sides of the block, said plate having longitudinal slots terminating at their outer ends in enlarged heads, said plate having end abutment lugs, fastening bolts removable through said heads of the slots, said bolts normally having their heads in the grooves and their shanks projecting through the slots, rail clamps carried by the bolts, and means engaging the flanges for fastening the plate to the block.

3. A rail tie comprising a block having its upper surface provided with a central, longitudinal groove, said groove having its ends and sides provided with seating ledges, said upper surface having central transverse seats that communicate with the grooves and the sides of the block having central vertical seats therein which are continuations of the upper seats, a rail plate seated on the ledges of the groove and having side flanges and wings that fit within the upper and side seats of the block, the center of the ends and having longitudinal slots adjacent plate including the flanges forming a flat and means for fastening the plate to the seat for a rail that extends across the upper block. i 19 surface of the block, said plate having trans- In testimony whereof I have affixed my Versely extending abutments adjacent its signature in presence of tWo Witnesses.

r WILL W. WILLARD. the abutments, rail clamps engaging the Witnesses:. abutments, fasteners engaging the clamps FRED DUSTIN, and extending through the slots of the plate, J. RAY ABBEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

